Usually I don't care about celebrities passing away and always wonder how people get get so broken up about it but I'm not going to lie and say this isn't effecting me somewhat.

Slayer is the only classic thrash band that I still actually listen to. I used to listen to the big 4 all the time through my teens but Anthrax, Metallica and Megadeath while still good stuff (the classics of course) just don't get played around here all that often. Slayer on the other hand still does and it's the only big 4 band I've actually put time into learning on guitar.

I still say they are one of the heaviest bands to date even when compared to all that drop tuned growl voiced modern stuff. Decade of Aggression is still one of my favorite live albums.

I figured they were exaggerating his recovery and overselling his eventually return to the band, but I didn't think it was this bad. I've seen Slayer with Gary Holt (of Exodus) filling in for Jeff. Gary Holt is an amazing guitarist and does a great job during the live shows, but I fear that without Hanneman they lose a really important songwriting component. Kerry King may think Slayer his his band, but Hanneman's responsible (or at least played a huge role) in some of the band's most memorable songs: "Angel of Death", "Raining Blood", "South of Heaven", "War Ensemble", "Dead Skin Mask", etc. I mean, look at their discography sometime and look at how many music credits he has.

With Jeff gone, Dave all but fired from the band permanently, and Tom out with more neck surgery (although he's almost certain to return), they should pretty much have to bill themselves as "Kerry King's Slayer" at this point.

That sucks. One of my prized possessions is a signed copy of Decade of Aggression. Saw them at... Grenada? Dallas deep ellum 20 or so years ago. Pretty sure I still have some tinnitus from that show decades later.

And yes, as a singular effort, Reign in Blood is, IMHO, the heaviest album of all time.

Usually I don't care about celebrities passing away and always wonder how people get get so broken up about it but I'm not going to lie and say this isn't effecting me somewhat.

Slayer is the only classic thrash band that I still actually listen to.

This. Metal in general and thrash metal specifically was my life for my most formative years. And of all those great bands, Slayer is the one that has endured for me the most and the only one that still gets a regular appearance in my musical rotation.

This is the shittiest news I've received all week. I had no idea he was so sick. RIP, dude.

I've seen them do these two songs back-to-back to close a show a couple of times, and it's always fucking amazing.

They've rotated out guitarists and especially drummers throughout the years, but to me Slayer is Araya, Hanneman, King and Lombardo. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to see that line-up.

I'm pretty sure Jeff would've been proud as shit to be singled out by them. Here's a hint: If your target has co-written songs for albums called South of Heaven and God Hates Us All, there's a good chance that his fans will just think it's hilarious when you tell them that "God hates" their idols (presumably meaning Jeff).

If you're in a metal band and WBC tweets about how much God hates you when you die, you did something very very right with your life.

I'm pretty sure Jeff would've been proud as shit to be singled out by them. Here's a hint: If your target has co-written songs for albums called South of Heaven and God Hates Us All, there's a good chance that his fans will just think it's hilarious when you tell them that "God hates" their idols (presumably meaning Jeff).

If you're in a metal band and WBC tweets about how much God hates you when you die, you did something very very right with your life.

I really, really, REALLY want WBC to try protesting his funeral service, just to see what all the Slayer fans do. I remember when Dimebag was shot years ago; legions of metalheads were ready to tear the guy apart. Seeing a horde of pissed off metalheads square off against the WBC would be epic.

This is the shittiest news I've received all week. I had no idea he was so sick. RIP, dude.

Yeah he apparently got bitten on the arm by a spider a few years back and never really recovered. Found this image of his arm from a recent concert in an article about his passing - spoilered for delicate sensibilities, but no spiders or gore or anything:

I'm going to say something here that I've been thinking since I heard this news last night, and it's going to come off as insensitive. But I hope that you all know what a fan I am, and will understand that I mean it with sincerity, respect and love for the guy and his talent and contributions to heavy metal in general and Slayer in particular.

If one of the members of Slayer, a band who pioneered the use of gory and grim lyrics and is often seen as a the primary direct influence on death metal, is going to have to die before his time...I guess getting bitten by a spider, dealing with the agony of a horrible infection of flesh-eating bacteria and eventually dying is a pretty fucking metal way to go.

I mean, very clearly I wish it had never happened to him. I would rather have him around, making records and playing concerts and thrashing my face off.

And while I'm sure it was a very unpleasant ordeal and I don't envy him any of the pain he almost certainly endured...it's still pretty fucking metal. The whole thing could be a death metal song.

I'm going to say something here that I've been thinking since I heard this news last night, and it's going to come off as insensitive. But I hope that you all know what a fan I am, and will understand that I mean it with sincerity, respect and love for the guy and his talent and contributions to heavy metal in general and Slayer in particular.

If one of the members of Slayer, a band who pioneered the use of gory and grim lyrics and is often seen as a the primary direct influence on death metal, is going to have to die before his time...I guess getting bitten by a spider, dealing with the agony of a horrible infection of flesh-eating bacteria and eventually dying is a pretty fucking metal way to go.

I mean, very clearly I wish it had never happened to him. I would rather have him around, making records and playing concerts and thrashing my face off.

And while I'm sure it was a very unpleasant ordeal and I don't envy him any of the pain he almost certainly endured...it's still pretty fucking metal. The whole thing could be a death metal song.

Yeah, it's definitely a more metal way of dying than a horrendous golf cart crash with Alice Cooper.

bitten by a spider, dealing with the agony of a horrible infection of flesh-eating bacteria and eventually dying[/i]

If you read that line in Tom Araya's voice it actually sounds like a Slayer lyric.

I saw Slayer live one time: just before the South of Heaven album was released with Motorhead as the opening act. It was pretty, uh, intense.

If I'm not mistaken, Jeff Hanneman is credited as the composer of the music in both Angel of Death and Raining Blood. For my money, that means he is responsible for writing THE absolutely archetypal metal riffs by anyone from any era, at least this side of Tony Iommi. That's quite a fucking accomplishment.

If one of the members of Slayer, a band who pioneered the use of gory and grim lyrics and is often seen as a the primary direct influence on death metal, is going to have to die before his time...I guess getting bitten by a spider, dealing with the agony of a horrible infection of flesh-eating bacteria and eventually dying is a pretty fucking metal way to go.

Metallica and Slayer are completely responsible for my musical tastes to this very day, and some would argue that they are responsible for my views of religion and individualism.

One of my absolute fondest memories from High School is of getting Seasons In The Abyss right after it came out, and blaring it while I passed out candy to trick-or-treaters. This would be October 1990 I believe. Even though South Of Heaven was my first exposure to Slayer, Abyss has always been my favorite album of theirs (And Reign in Blood of course!)

I've seen them do these two songs back-to-back to close a show a couple of times, and it's always fucking amazing.

They've rotated out guitarists and especially drummers throughout the years, but to me Slayer is Araya, Hanneman, King and Lombardo. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to see that line-up.

I was there for that show. Indeed, it was fucking awesome. When Raining Blood started, it also happened to start raining (again...got rained on so much that day.) People were going crazy. Good times.

I'm refreshing my knowledge of South Of Heaven on guitar. I can't play their really fast stuff, it's just insane. I also can't play the solos. Still I have a get together this evening with some other metalhead musicians and while they aren't as big on Slayer as myself (more Iron Maiden and Metallica) I think we could play around with a couple in his memory.

Speaking of Slayer, have any of you gotten into any of the newer albums? I really only ever got into Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, Seasons in the Abyss and Divine Intervention, and of course Decade of Aggression.

The "trilogy", for me personally, is Reign In Blood, South of Heaven and Seasons in the Abyss.

I like selected songs from God Hates Us All, Christ Illusion and World Painted Blood. Christ Illusion is probably my favorite of their 21st Century albums. It's not as strong musically as the aforementioned "trilogy", but it's still quite impressive. And Dave Lombardo's drumming is really great on it.

Since the announcement, many Slayer fans have begun organising a counter picket to drown out the controversial religious organisation, with some suggesting arming themselves with red-paint-filled water balloons to throw at the group. Jeff Hanneman's funeral arrangements are yet to be made.

I'm sorry, but it's just a regular right pisser that anyone (regardless of anything) cannot be laid to rest in peace.

Since the announcement, many Slayer fans have begun organising a counter picket to drown out the controversial religious organisation, with some suggesting arming themselves with red-paint-filled water balloons to throw at the group. Jeff Hanneman's funeral arrangements are yet to be made.

I'm sorry, but it's just a regular right pisser that anyone (regardless of anything) cannot be laid to rest in peace.

Since the announcement, many Slayer fans have begun organising a counter picket to drown out the controversial religious organisation, with some suggesting arming themselves with red-paint-filled water balloons to throw at the group. Jeff Hanneman's funeral arrangements are yet to be made.

Oh FFS, I hope they don't. That's what WBC wants! They'll sue, they'll win and they'll get more money for their troll religion. It's what they do.

I said this to a coworker: I'd like to think that the majority of Slayer fans are like myself, in that they find WBC picketing Jeff's funeral to be hilarious and pathetic rather than offensive. Have fun with it! Make your own "God Hates Jeff" placards, he probably would've approved! The dude co-wrote "Raining Blood". He and Kerry King had this to say about that song:

Quote:

Hanneman explained that "it's about a guy who's in Purgatory 'cause he was cast out of Heaven. He's waiting for revenge and wants to fuck that place up." King later said that "the rest of the song explains what happens when he starts fucking people up. The lyrics 'Return to power draws near' is because he's waiting to get strong enough again to overthrow Heaven. And then 'Fall into me, the sky's crimson tears' is everybody's blood flowing into him. So basically, 'Raining Blood' is all the angels' blood falling on him."

So saying "God Hates Jeff Hanneman" or whatever? I don't think that would've fazed him for a second. I think he would've loved it.

Sadly, most Slayer fans are stupid fucking meatheads who are always spoiling for a fight anyway. So instead of showing up to the protest with matching "God Hates XYZ" placards and staging it as a rally rather than a protest (I believe the kids call this "flipping the script"), they'll beat up some Phelpses, get a few minutes of satisfaction and then WBC will file a bunch of lawsuits. There are more lawyers in that family than there are pastors.